1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is directed to an apparatus for effecting effortless installation of a drain apparatus in a sanitary vessel such as a sink or basin. The drain apparatus of the present invention incorporates structure that attenuates the time required for installation and/or maintenance of conventional drain assemblies without compromising the function thereof. In this manner, the present invention enhances the operation of newly installed and pre-installed sanitary vessels
2. Description of Related Art
Installation and maintenance of sanitary vessels requires substantial investments of fiscal and temporal resources. Although consumers must often make difficult decisions concerning the extent to which certain functional and aesthetic features can feasibly be incorporated into a product, the same consumers repeatedly demand ease of installation and maintenance of their products.
There have been numerous attempts to address these demands. U.S. Pat. No. 645,639 to Bunting, Jr., for instance, discloses a washbasin having a handle in operable communication with a vertical shaft that is disposed in a sleeve. A horizontal shaft is provided in a tubular projection that is connected to a waste pipe to facilitate free rotation of the horizontal shaft therewithin. A spring is adjustably connected to adjacent ends of the vertical and horizontal shafts so that, upon turning of the handle, the horizontal shaft also rotates. The basin also includes a plug with an annular groove engaged by an eccentric pin on an adjacent end of the horizontal shaft. In this configuration, rotation of the horizontal shaft causes elevation of the plug and further rotation lowers the plug.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,063,399 to Rasmussen discloses a waste and overflow device for bathtubs and basins. The device includes a fitting having a short tube over which a plug stem sits. The stem is formed at its lower end with an outwardly projecting lug that passes through a correspondingly configured notch when placed in alignment therewith such that turning of the plug prevents withdrawal of the plug from the fitting. An overflow head is also provided that includes an opening to which a tube is mounted. The tubes are connected by a flexible shaft having a tapered valve at an operating extent thereof. The valve, when raised, correspondingly closes the opening in of the short tube. An upper end of the flexible shaft is connected with a handle so as to be guided thereby. When it is desired to open the plug, actuation of the handle correspondingly moves the flexible shaft, thereby lifting the plug from its seated position.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,085,469 to Petursson discloses a drain plug in the outlet of a plumbing fixture such as a lavatory basin or bath. A flexible cable loosely resides within a flexible tube that extends through both overflow and drain pipes. The flexible cable connects the plug with a waste control handle, and a simple attachment clip permits ready installation or replacement thereof.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,333,327 to Redding et al. discloses a mechanism for remotely opening and closing a basin drain by utilizing a flexible rod movably disposed within a non-linear tube. The rod connects a user-driven member with a linkage member having a plug in communication therewith, such that pushing or pulling the drive member correspondingly moves the plug and effects opening and closing of the drain. Within a bend of the tube, a void is desirably defined between the rod and the tube to reduce friction. The configuration of the rod may include one or more bulbous ends or a lobed cross-section.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,367,102 discloses a drain assembly having a movable stopper guide that aligns a drain flange to a drain body from above a sink within which the drain assembly is installed. The stopper guide supports a stopper at an upper end thereof to effect closing of a drain opening. The stopper guide has an axial opening to accommodate an axial fastener that joins the drain flange and drain body to the basin. The stopper guide also has downwardly extending legs defining an axial slot extending from the axial opening to accommodate cross-members that extend laterally between the drain flange and drain body. The drain flange can be aligned with the drain body by engaging the drain flange cross-member and rotating such cross-member as appropriate.
None of the aforementioned solutions discloses a drain apparatus that combines optimal installation structure and drain stopper functions in a drain assembly that readily installs in sanitary vessels without any adjustments made by the user. It is therefore desirable to provide a drain apparatus having such advantages over existing drain assemblies that incur deleterious investments of temporal and fiscal resources due to prolonged installation of such devices.